The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1887-03-13
RANDOM NOTES.

stricken with that vulgar epidemic, a "gricv.
ancc7"
"a grievance? Go search tho Unabridged
from title page to the terminal vocabulary Of
Scrirtural proper names, and you'll fail TO lnd
n term or word expressive enough to fit my case
For some time past have been feeling u
peculiar sensation of depression, n sort of spirit
ual opaoucncss, as II were, and yet ctcouldnt learn
the cause. II wasn't from malaria, for I nm
very light drinker, and u couldn't be from love,
ns I've been married three years, Yet there Il
was, and there was no getting shut of 1t. sud
denly, swiftly, and astoundingly, Just like of
those what-do-you-e -eall-'cms that poets talk
about, the cause of my condition flashed upon
mo this very morning. ] am not an american
citisen!"
mot an American citizen 2" repeated query.
inVly.
That is precisely the size Of Il; am not an
American citizen, and yet by every right, civil,
political and natural, should be. You rcmcm-
Der how the reading world was once so thor
oughly agitatcd over the condition of Edward
Everett Hale's Man without n Country ~
Why, that fictitious fellow wasn't a marker to
me, who is fact, or TO many others about me, for
am not alone in my unnatural solitude"
"How docs all this come about Z" asked, cdg-
ing away, for his eyes now began to glitter, and
have a morbid dread of insane people.
Alas, II is too patent, though own II by right
of discovery. To start with my ancestors oil
both sides OF the house have been born IN Amer.
lea for the last hundred and fifty years. I was
born In Pennsylvania, but my father after spend
ing four years In putting down the Rebellion. was
promoted to minion OF the Government, and
our family came here to live. Here in Washing.
have I resided continuously since boyhood.
was educated hero, studied my profession naw
aud practice II here. and am fortunate enough IA
make n fairly respectable living.
Before l attained my majority the right of
franchise was taken awny from the District, and
as II has never been restored have never cast n
vote. As am fixed resident here, because
don't know any other place where would Ia II,
certain Of earning my livelihood rs In the Dis
trict. am practically. actually. and I suppose
pcrpctualy denied that privilege which is the SUI
premest prerogativc of citlzen-the right OF
suffrage.
"If | wanted au Office am barred because tho
quota Of the District of Columbia is filed to re.
pletion, and the Civil Service Commission will re
spectfully but firmly inform you that no appli
cants from this tcn.milc square need apply.
being lawyer am, of course. ineligible tC
act upon a Jury.
Thus you see am deprived of every rvh
aud attribute which constitutes citizen: can
not vote cannot serve on the Jury, canno
run for any elective Office, and am denied tn,
greatest OF North American prvileges-the op
| portunty of getting Government Office. Ism
| II enough to make man dcspondent, and. so /,
| speak, to break him all ur. Any Russian, Ger
man. Turk Prussian, 1rishmau, or Eye.talian cnI
come to our country and after the bricfest sor
Of sojourn catch on to citizenship and offices -ant
they do II, too-while I, whose great -grandfathe
was on the right side IN the Revolutionary War
| whose grandfather served In the War of 1872
| whose father fought through our more recen
domestic difference among the States, am al
alien on my native evil-nn American. but not
citizen, man without country
There's one Office you arc eligible for" ex
planned.
whats that
"Thc Presidency. You could run for that"
| mo, l couldn't even get that" he modest,
and almost pathetically moaned. Its lust III.
blank fate I won't be thirty.hvc years of ag
until 1882 aud know I'll have worried or dranl
myself to death before the following Prcsden
tial convention is held. No. it's no usc to talk
mine is n sad lot" he sighed as he turned away
Il reckon the only consideration they'll SHOW
me rs an American citizen is to levy nm assess
ment on me for the expenses Of the next cam
paiRu, or to draft me II we get into war will
Canada"
Both Houses gave q, ,ideuce of their fifth IL
the ingenuity, in the device In the enterprise o
the American mechanic. Of the naval architect
| NhlCu uuNt HtIttOlOIt Dttu lelt TTdCtlCullN
developed by reason of the untagonism OK
hibited by the bureaux of our Executive Depart
ments toward all inventions or improvements II
machinery, or other designs appliances o!
fered by private partics-by civilian inventors o
experts
Congress took the bit In its teeth, ms 1t were
and put into the late Naval Appropriation Inv
very explicit provision by which the Secrctar
of the Navy is authorized to call tn his aid 4
1 kiDu IN Rso for ba CHI al
the expert civilian talent, and wit, aud ueniu
upon this subject that he may find, SO that tn
contractors in bidding for these structures shn
not be limited to cut-and-dried Procustcan plan
that are made alone in the Navy Department
but that some of the enterprise, some of tn
genius which radiatcs outside of that Depart
ment may be evoked by the Secretary and ma
add to the power that he has and may help I
guide his hand"
With regularity only elunlci by the period
cnl appearance of another fresh post-morter
novel by Hugh Conway, the Barbara Frietchic
episode comes up in the American pres, an
every new vcrsion OF 1t is about rs fay on fror
the truth as the original, or whitticr's bcnutifu
poem itself. I see that the New York paper
have recently been platitudinizing upon the sui
jcct, and have made no more Intelligent headwa
in their last efforts than In the initial.
happen To know the genuine history Of III
poem how close, or rather how Far, from actui
facts 1t is, and how it came to be written.
The late Professor sam Tyler, of Georgetown
was the mediate, and Mr. 4. d. 4. n. Southwort
the immediate cause Of Whittier's sweet-soun,
ing tetrameters upon adramatic incident whic
might have, but never did, happen.
Professor Tyler was visiting Mrs. soutl,wort
one evening Just after Stonewall JacksOns bus
ness tour through Maryland, and nll convers
tion centered upon that, the then most actual
interesting topic of the day or aye in this section
The Professor was native Of Frederick ai
was familiar with every feature and resident ,
the town. Suddenly he was moved by an impul,
to remark to Mrs. SOuthwortb that un elder
lady, for years bed-rdden, lived on the sire,
through which 'Stoncwall" ind his soldie
. tramped, and he suggested that n strikinRly SOL
sational article could be written describing h,
ns rising from her mattress grave, us Hene hi
!, 1t, and defying the hosts of the Rebellion.
, Mrs. Southworth was impressed with the idt
and wrote to the Bunker poet, John q. White
! upon tho suggestion. The poet noted on II, au
! ! so barbara frietchie," which will go down
i generations ms companion picture to his MAJ
Muller" was written.
, Whether or not the name that Whittier ga,
his ngcd heroine was TINT Of the old lady In Ere
erick. or was one Of his own choosing, don
know, but such were the circumstances surroun
ing the origin of the poem.
-.
II has always been standing question whcth
] the two beautifully rounded knobs In the Pro.
I dental grounds south Of the White House wei
natural or the result Of urt. Mr.. ScatOn DonOhI
i OF this city. has settled the question. His gram
I father who removed from Montgomery Count
I Md in the last years of the Inst century, at
|, time when Washington was so vacantly scttl,
4 that after reaching his destination he was necc
0 STATED TO inquire where the Capital city was